Mahesh Manjrekar at the muhurat of the film with Shruti and Vidyut
Derailed due to the pandemic, Mahesh Manjrekar's The Power to release directly on OTT platform
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; December 12, 2020)

Before kicking off the shoot of Salman Khan-starrer Antim, director Mahesh Manjrekar provided the final touches to his pending film, The Power. It will finally see the light of day on ZEE5 in 2021.

The gangster drama, featuring Vidyut Jammwal and Shruti Haasan, went on floors in April 2018. It also marks Manjrekar's return as a Bollywood director after a decade. His last Hindi film directorial was City of Gold (2010), post which he went on to helm Marathi movies.

"In these uncertain times, OTT is the best option available. Although the action thriller is more suited for a theatrical release, we don't know how long it will be before things normalise, so we have decided to not wait," says producer Vijay Galani.

He maintains that post production of the film delayed the release. "It took a while due to the high-octane action sequences. With about 18 villains, we were looking to release the film in the first half of 2020, but the pandemic broke out."

Jammwal plays a gangster, while Haasan plays his love interest. However, circumstances teach her to wield guns too.